And you being dead in your sins
Not corporeally, though sin had subjected them to a corporeal
death, and their bodies were really mortal, and in a little time
must die; but morally, sin had brought a death upon them in a
moral sense, they were separated from God, as at death the body
is from the soul, and so were alienated from the life of God, and
consequently must be dead; they had lost the image of God, which
consisted in knowledge, righteousness, and holiness; and were
dead as to the understanding of what was good, as to their
affections for it, or will and capacity to do it; and, like dead
men, were insensible of their state, their sin, and misery; and
altogether inactive and helpless in spiritual things, being
destitute of spiritual life, strength, and motion; and were
moreover in themselves deserving of eternal death, and according
to the law of works, under the sentence of it, and so liable and
exposed unto it; and all this for, and on account of their sins,
their actual sins and transgressions here meant; which separated
them from God, deformed his image in them, and hardened their
hearts, that they had no true sight and sense of themselves; as
also on account of the corruption of their nature, signified in
the next clause:
and the uncircumcision of your flesh;
which is to be taken not literally, for the prepuce, or foreskin
of their flesh, which was a sign and token of the corruption of
nature, but figuratively that itself; it being usual with the
Jews to call the vitiosity of nature (lre) , "uncircumcision"; which, they say
F25, is one of the seven names of
(er ruy) , "the evil
imagination", or corrupt nature, denoting the pollution,
loathsomeness, and abominableness of it:
hath he quickened together with him;
that is, with Christ; this may be understood either of the
quickening of them in conversion and sanctification; for as they
were dead in sin in a moral sense, in conversion a principle of
life was implanted in them, or grace, as a living principle, was
wrought in their souls by the Spirit of life from Christ; so that
they could see their lost state, their need of Christ, the glory
of his person and righteousness, the fulness and suitableness of
his grace; feel their burdens, and handle the word of life; could
hear the Gospel, speak the language of Canaan, breathe in prayer
and spiritual desires, walk in Christ, and do all things through
him; and this was God's act and not theirs, and owing to his rich
mercy and great love: and this may be said to be done "with
Christ", because this is in consequence of his being quickened,
or raised from the dead; and by it they were made partakers of
the life of Christ, they became one spirit with him; and it was
not so much they that lived, but Christ lived in them; and
besides, they were quickened, in order to live a life of grace
and communion with him here, and of glory hereafter: or it may be
interpreted of the quickening of them in justification; and the
rather, because of what is said in the next clause; and that
either openly, as when a sinner is convinced that he is dead in a
legal sense, and faith is wrought in him to behold pardon and
righteousness in Christ; upon which he prays for the one, and
pleads the other; and the Spirit of God seals unto him the pardon
of his sins, brings near the righteousness of Christ, enables him
to lay hold on it as his, and pronounces him justified by it; and
may well be called justification of life, for he is then alive in
a legal sense, in his own comfortable view and apprehension of
things: or secretly in Christ, as the head and representative of
all his people; who when he was quickened, they were quickened
with him; when he rose from the dead, they rose with him; and
when he was justified, they were instilled in him, and this seems
to be the true sense of this passage:
having forgiven you all trespasses.
This was a past act, being done and over; not only at first
conversion, when a discovery of it was made, but at the death of
Christ, whose blood was shed for the remission of sin; yea, even
as early as Christ became a surety, when the sins of his people
were not imputed to them, but to him: and this was a single act,
and done and complete at once; forgiveness of sin is not done by
piecemeals, or at different times, or by divers acts, but is done
at once, and includes sin past, present, and to come; and is
universal, reaches to all sin, original and actual, before and
after conversion; sins of thought, word, and action: and this is
God's act, and his only; not men, nor ministers, nor angels, can
forgive sin; this is the peculiar prerogative of God, and is
owing to his abundant mercy and free grace, and which is
signified by the word here used. The Syriac and Arabic versions
read, "having forgiven us all our trespasses"; and so the
Alexandrian copy, and some others, read "us" instead of "you".